Development / Assam

GUWAHATI, March 25 ? Borsola Beel, a major water body of the city, which had all the potentials to make Guwahati an excellent modern city, has now been reduced to a sewage reservoir. It has now all the elements in it to turn it into a veritable portent for a vast area of the city. Pollution Control Board, Assam (PCBA) sources here said that the beel water is now extremely contaminated with sewage. The beel is receiving pollutants through the municipal drains, municipal solid waste (MSW) from the wholesale fish market operating from inside the beel area and domestic wastes from the encroached...

GUWAHATI, March 24 ? The historic Dighalipukhuri, which added to the beauty of this picturesque city till the other day, is now stinking. Irrational behaviour of the people of this city, which is known since the days of the epics, is said to be the reason behind this degradation of the massive tank. Dighalipukhuri is connected with several myths. One such myth attributes its digging to the Mahabharata fame king Bhagadatta, the father-in-law of king Duryodhana. History of the State has its mention as a part of the city?s fortification in the pre-British period. The tank is one of the major...

NEW DELHI, March 22 ? The Commerce Ministry has ruled out the possibility of reopening the Stillwell Road even as two additional points for border trade with Myanmar in Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh have been identified for opening. The disclosure was made by the Minister of State for Commerce, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, at the Lok Sabha, here this morning, in response to a question by Paban Singh Ghatowar. The MP seeking an assurance from the Minister, underlined the importance of the Stillwell Road for the economy of the North East. He pointed out to the Minister that importance of the road lay in...

NEW DELHI, March 22 ? The Assam Government today petitioned the Defence Ministry to review its policy and remove the restrictions on communication network, including cellular phone and Wireless on Local Loop (WLL) clamped on ground of security. The issues figure during a meeting between Defence Minister, George Fernandes and State Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, here this morning, at the South Block. The blanket ban on spread of communication network in the name of security ordered by the Army has cost the State as much as Rs 100 crore in equipments procured by the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited...

GUWAHATI, March 15 ? Tourism in Assam in particular and the North-East in general is set to get a fresh lease of life following the operation of Air India flights to Bangkok beginning from April 4. This is the view shared by tour operators, travel agents, government departments and other agencies connected with tourism in the State. The mood in the tour operators? circle in the city is upbeat and they are working overtime to cash in on the business prospects that the new development is offering.

Jungle Travels India Pvt Ltd, a leading tour operator of the North-East which is also a member...

GUWAHATI, March 13 ? The Power Minister Sri Devanand Konwar today admitted that the Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station (BTPS) of the Assam State Electricity Baord (ASEB) has turned into a white elephant and under the present circumstances, it would be difficult to revive the project. Replying to a call attention motion by Sri Hemendra Nath Brahma (BDLP) in the State Assembly today. The Power Minister said that the BTPS has turned into a totally unviable and uneconomic project. The Minister said that three of the four units of the BTPS which had an installed capacity of 240 MW are out of order...

GUWAHATI, March 12 ? State Forest Minister GC Langthasa today informed the State Assembly that the Government has mooted a proposal to add 309135 hectares of additional land in the reserved forests. Replying to a question by Hitendra Nath Goswami (AGP), the Forest Minister said that at present 23.424 sq km area, that is 30.4 per cent of the total geographical area of the State, is under forest cover. He said that as per norms, the forest cover should be at least 33 per cent of the total geographical area. Langthasa revealed that the State has 20 national parks and sanctuaries for regular...

NEW DELHI, March 9 ? Rail projects in the North-East are likely to suffer further delay and cost-overrun as they are hit by serious financial crunch and the department has been forced to knock at the doors of the Department of Development of North Eastern Region (DONER) for additional funds to complete pending projects in the region. While the north eastern States continue to vent their frustration over delay in implementation of projects and the meagre funds earmarked for mega projects in the successive Railway Budgets, the Ministry has sought to move the Centre for funding some of its...

GUWAHATI, March 5 : Beginning April 5, Air India (AI) will commence its twice-a-week operation from Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi (LGB) Airport here on Thursdays and Mondays with a 200-seater Airbus 310. Addressing a Press conference here this afternoon, the Air India Director (Public Relations), Jitendra Bhargava informed that at the initial two months the AI would operate international flight in Mumbai-Kolkata-Guwahati-Bangkok route at ?affordable rates? although he refused to divulge the exact rate of fares at this moment. He informed that AI in collaboration with all State Tourism...

GUWAHATI, Feb 28 ? The Kathalguri gas based power project of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) has become the first power station of the North-eastern region to be declared as the centre of excellence by the Government of India. NEEPCO sources said that the installed capacity of the power plant is 291 mw, consisting of six gas turbine units each of 33.5 MW and three steam turbine units each of 30 mw capacity. The gas turbines were commissioned in 1995-96, while, the commercial operation of the steam turbines started on April, 1 1999. NEEPCO sources said that in February...